Will economics professors be replaced by AI?
Updated
Economics professors score 45 of 100 for AI exposure. The largest share of their task time, 47%, is work AI speeds up while they stay in charge. AI can take over 21% outright, and 32% stays with people.
- 21% AI can do it
- 47% AI helps
- 32% Needs a person
Moderate exposure
Higher than 63% of the 923 occupations we scored.
Task by task
We graded 22 tasks, listed here from most to least exposed. AI can do 4 of them today, speeds up 10 and leaves 8 to people.
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Maintain student attendance records, grades, and other required records. Learning systems automate attendance and grade records. | 75% AI can do it |
| Prepare course materials, such as syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts. AI drafts syllabi, assignments and handouts; instructor reviews them. | 70% AI can do it |
| Compile bibliographies of specialized materials for outside reading assignments. AI compiles reading lists quickly; instructor verifies citations. | 70% AI can do it |
| Evaluate and grade students' class work, assignments, and papers. AI can grade and give feedback on routine work; instructor checks. | 60% AI can do it |
| Compile, administer, and grade examinations, or assign this work to others. AI builds and grades exams; proctoring and oversight stay human. | 50% AI helps |
| Conduct research in a particular field of knowledge and publish findings in professional journals, books, or electronic media. AI aids literature review and drafting; core research stays human. | 45% AI helps |
| Plan, evaluate, and revise curricula, course content, course materials, and methods of instruction. AI proposes curriculum changes; faculty judgment decides final design. | 45% AI helps |
| Write grant proposals to procure external research funding. AI drafts proposal sections; funders judge the science and team. | 45% AI helps |
| Keep abreast of developments in the field by reading current literature, talking with colleagues, and participating in professional conferences. AI summarizes papers; conferences and peer talks remain human. | 40% AI helps |
| Select and obtain materials and supplies, such as textbooks. AI can compare textbooks and draft orders; selection stays with instructor. | 40% AI helps |
Show the other 12 tasks
| Task | AI exposure |
|---|---|
| Prepare and deliver lectures to undergraduate or graduate students on topics such as econometrics, price theory, and macroeconomics. AI drafts lecture content; live delivery stays with the instructor. | 30% AI helps |
| Participate in student recruitment, registration, and placement activities. AI can screen applications; recruiting and placement involve people. | 30% AI helps |
| Provide professional consulting services to government or industry. AI supports analysis; consulting relies on client trust and expertise. | 30% AI helps |
| Advise students on academic and vocational curricula and on career issues. AI supplies career data; personal advising remains a human relationship. | 25% AI helps |
| Perform administrative duties, such as serving as department head. Leadership, staff and budget decisions rest with people. | 18% Needs a person |
| Supervise undergraduate or graduate teaching, internship, and research work. Mentoring and overseeing student work is largely person led. | 15% Needs a person |
| Maintain regularly scheduled office hours to advise and assist students. Live advising conversations are interpersonal; AI only answers routine questions. | 15% Needs a person |
| Collaborate with colleagues to address teaching and research issues. Collegial work runs on in-person relationships and shared judgment. | 15% Needs a person |
| Serve on academic or administrative committees that deal with institutional policies, departmental matters, and academic issues. Committee deliberation and institutional politics need human judgment. | 15% Needs a person |
| Initiate, facilitate, and moderate classroom discussions. Live discussion needs real-time reading of students; mostly human. | 12% Needs a person |
| Act as advisers to student organizations. Student organization advising is in person and built on trust. | 10% Needs a person |
| Participate in campus and community events. Campus and community events are physical and social. | 5% Needs a person |
How economics professors compare
All occupations (923)
Educational instruction and library (62)
Pay and outlook in the US
- Median pay
- $123,920 a year, May 2025
- People employed
- 11,560 in the US, May 2025
- Projected change in jobs
- +2.4% from 2024 to 2034
Skills to build
- Build course syllabi and assignments in Google Docs and Microsoft Word
- Grade exams and essays with rubrics in the LMS
- Run seminars and classroom discussions in person
- Mentor student research in MATLAB or Microsoft Excel
- Publish peer-reviewed economics research in professional journals
- Advise student organizations and office hours in person
Safer roles nearby
5 related occupations with lower scores.
Questions about economics professors and AI
Will AI replace economics professors?
Partly. About 4 in 10 working hours go to tasks AI can already do, mostly maintaining attendance and grade records and preparing course materials like syllabi and handouts. What stays with people is live classroom discussion, mentoring student research, and advising students in office hours, where judgment and trust matter most.
Which tasks is AI taking over for economics professors?
Record keeping has the highest exposure, at 75 out of 100, because learning systems automate attendance and grade records. Drafting course materials scores 70, since AI can produce syllabi, homework assignments, and handouts that the instructor then reviews. Compiling reading lists scores 70 as well, with the instructor verifying citations.
Which tasks stay human for economics professors?
Live discussion, mentoring, and advising stay human. Facilitating classroom discussions scores only 12 out of 100 on exposure, because it requires reading students in real time. Supervising student research scores 15, since mentoring is person led, and collegial work with colleagues also scores 15 because it runs on in-person relationships.
How can economics professors stay valuable as AI takes over grading and records?
Shift time toward work that needs your judgment. Design rubrics and check AI feedback on papers in your LMS, lead seminars, supervise thesis research in MATLAB or Excel, and keep publishing original economics research. Those tasks carry the most weight in the job and stay with people.
Related jobs
Next steps for economics professors
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